Malaria

Total deaths from contagious diseases rose 86% to 12,598 from 6,767 in 2019

The global number of malaria cases and deaths generally remained stable in 2021, thanks to redoubled efforts by affected countries, the WHO said

The coronavirus pandemic interrupted efforts to control malaria, resulting in 63,000 additional deaths and 13 million more infections globally over two years, according to a report from the World Health Organisation published on Thursday. Cases of the parasitic disease went up in 2020 and continued to climb in 2021, though at a slower pace, the UN health agency said on Thursday. About 95 per cent of the world's 247 million malaria infections and 619,000 deaths last year were in Africa. We were off track before the pandemic and the pandemic has now made things worse, said Abdisalan Noor, a senior official in WHO's malaria department. Alister Craig, dean of biological sciences at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, noted that progress in reducing malaria deaths had stalled even before COVID-19. It is almost as if we have reached a limit of effectiveness for the tools we have now, said Lister, who was not linked to the WHO report. Noor said he expected the wider rollout of th

Pakistan's health ministry on Tuesday approved the purchase of over 6 million mosquito nets from India, as the country scrambles to contain the spread of malaria and other vector-borne diseases due to the unprecedented floods, according to a media report on Tuesday. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is using financial resources provided by Global Fund to acquire the nets for Pakistan, according to Geo.tv. The WHO officials said they are planning to obtain mosquito nets as early as possible and are hopeful that these would be obtained by next month via the Wagah route, the report said. More than 1,700 people were killed, 33 million displaced and a third of the country was submerged under water in the worst floods to hit Pakistan, brought about by unprecedented rains since mid-June. In September, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that a surge in diseases like malaria can cause a "second disaster." Last week, the WHO warned of 2.7 million malaria cases in 32 districts in .

As many as 693 cases were reported in September alone, according to a report released by the MCD

The WHO warned of 2.7 million malaria cases in flood-hit Pakistan in 32 districts by January 2023

Some cities like Delhi and Mumbai are also witnessing cases of leptospirosis and gastroenteritis fevers

Experts say India needs more decentralised planning, and access to testing and treatment for malaria and dengue

WHO welcomed the announcement by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, of international support worth nearly USD 160 million for the next 3 years to facilitate increased vaccine access to children

Test can differentiate between seven diseases and give results in 2 hrs

According to the WHO's 2021 World Malaria Report, global progress in reducing malaria cases and deaths has slowed or stalled in recent years, particularly in the countries hardest hit by the disease

Only 27 malaria deaths were reported in the entire state in the past five years from 2017 onwards, they said

A study says, hydroxychloroquine inhibits pathways that drive resistance to chemotherapy agent cisplatin in head and neck cancers and restores tumour-killing effects of cisplatin in animal models

Drug-resistant bacteria and other microbes are rising due to the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, say health officials.

However, the rate of reduction was lower than it had been before the pandemic

Delhi has reported the first death due to dengue this year, while the number of cases of the vector-borne disease has mounted to over 720, according to a civic report

There are several candidates in the works - the Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech, and Zydus Cadila are working on either developing or manufacturing anti-malarial vaccines

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that it has recommended widespread use of the world's first malaria vaccine called RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) for children in sub-Saharan Africa.

These diseases account for more than 17 per cent of all infectious diseases, causing over seven lakh deaths across the world annually.

Pharmaceutical company BioNTech said Monday that it wants to use the mRNA technology behind its coronavirus vaccine to target malaria.